


Love's a Game

by angelsfalling16



Series: 20 First Kisses [5]
Category: Carry On Series - Rainbow Rowell
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, SnowBaz, Tyrannus Basilton "Baz" Pitch Is Plotting, or at least Snow thinks he is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-20
Updated: 2018-07-20
Packaged: 2019-06-13 07:51:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15359718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelsfalling16/pseuds/angelsfalling16
Summary: Simon and Baz are dancing around each other all morning with gentle touches, but neither one knows why the other is doing it. Simon thinks Baz is plotting something, and Baz thinks Simon is just messing with him.





	Love's a Game

**Simon**

We’ve just finished breakfast, and Baz has me shoved up against a wall. We’re standing in a deserted hallway, so no one else is here to see us. Baz is breathing harshly but doesn’t say anything. His hands are on either side of my head, and he’s standing so close that I can feel his breath on my cheek.

I’m not sure what exactly happened. I was just walking down the hall on the way to my first class, minding my own business, when I was suddenly pinned between the wall and Baz. I’m not sure what I could have done to make him angry so early in the morning. I left for breakfast before he even woke up this morning, and I didn’t see him in the dining hall this morning.

“Baz,” I breathe. He shakes his head, not saying anything. “Baz, what are you doing?”

“Damn it, Snow.” Baz pushes himself off the wall walks away before I can say anything, and I’m too stunned to go after him.

I’ve got no idea what that was about. He looked like he wanted to do or say something. But he didn’t. He must be plotting something, and I have to figure out what it is.

 

**Baz**

“Snow, what are you doing?” I sneer. “Let go of me.”

 _He_  has  _me_  pushed up against a wall this time. I don’t know what I was thinking this morning, and I had hoped he would just pretend it didn’t happen. Apparently, that’s too much to ask for because here we are in almost the same position we were a couple of hours ago.

He almost looks as surprised as I feel. It looks like he didn’t really think this through before he decided to confront me between classes. I relax into the wall as much as possible with his vice-like grip on my arms. I try to look as calm as I can so that he won’t be able to see what his proximity is doing to me.

He’s staring at lips, which makes me look at his. I wonder how they would feel. Probably warm, much warmer than mine at least. They’d probably feel really soft, too. If I leaned forward just a bit, I would know. I force myself to look anywhere but his lips. Thinking about kissing Snow is definitely a bad idea.

My eyes meet his, and I can’t read the expression there. I’m not sure whether he noticed me staring at his lips.

“Crap,” Snow whispers before turning and walking away. I just stand there watching him until he turns a corner.

 

**Simon**

As soon as I turn the corner, I start running. I need to get away from Baz as fast as possible. I can’t believe that I was just thinking about kissing him. I’m pretty sure he saw me staring at his lips, too. I shouldn’t have pushed him up against a wall without some sort of plan. If he ever finds out that I have slight feelings toward him and dream about kissing him, he would kill me for sure.

We share the next couple of classes with each other, and I’m going to have to work hard not to stare at him and think about running my fingers through his dark hair or kissing his widow’s peak. I shake my head to clear it of those thoughts and head in the direction of the classroom.

 

**Baz**

I’m not sure what to make of Snow today. Usually, I can feel his heated gaze on me throughout our classes because he thinks I’m plotting something. But today, it seems like he’s trying to avoid looking at me. I turn around in my seat slightly to look at him. The movement must catch his attention because he immediately looks at him. I smile at him and turn back around. It isn’t my usual sneer, and it will probably send him spiraling with a bunch of questions.

It does its job though because I feel the familiar heat of his gaze for the rest of the class. I don’t bother looking at him when it’s time to go. I quickly leave the room and walk beside Dev on the way to our next class.

 

**Simon**

I don’t know what that smile was for, but it was brilliant. I’ve never seen it before, and I felt rather lucky that it was directed at me for a moment. But then, I started wondering why he smiled at me. Was it part of his plan? Was he trying to throw me off, make me think that he likes me? Well, two can play that game.

He all but runs out of the room when class is dismissed, but I’m not far behind him. Casually, I walk past him, brushing my fingers against his without saying a word or even looking at him. I keep moving, insuring that I’ll make it to our next class before he does.

 

**Baz**

I don’t know if he rubbed his fingers against mine on accident or on purpose. I nearly jumped when I felt his touch, and Dev gave me a weird look. If Snow wants to play this game, I can play it too.

When the next class is over, I move closer to Snow as we’re leaving. I link our pinkies together and squeeze before letting go. It happens really fast, and if anyone is looking at us, it will just look like we bumped into each other. They will have no idea that I don’t want to let go, that I want to walk down the hall with him with our pinkies linked together.

I do pull away though, and I walk with Dev to meet up with Niall in the dining hall for lunch. I fiddle with an apple for a while, waiting for Snow to walk in. I’m nervous because I don’t know what any of this means. Is it all just a game to Snow? I don’t want it to be a game. I want it to be so much more. But he’ll never want that. With a sigh, I make up an excuse to Dev and Niall and start walking out of the dining hall. That’s when I see him.

Snow’s walking in my direction, but I don’t think he sees me. He’s scanning the tables, probably looking for Wellbelove and Bunce. When we’re about to pass each other, his eyes find mine. He smiles a strange smile at me before nearly walking into me. Our shoulders bump, and I’m about to sneer at him to watch where he’s going when I feel his hand take mine for a moment.

I don’t want to ever let go. I want to pull on his hand and lead him out of the dining hall. I don’t do anything though because I’m frozen to the spot. I can’t think with his hand in mine.

Then, he leans forward to whisper in my ear. “You look nice today, Baz.” He drops my hand, and quickly walks away before I can react.

I just stand there for a moment thinking. Why did he just compliment me? What are we doing with these secret touches. Why are we trying to find excuses to touch each other at all? Well, I know why I want to touch him, but that can’t be why he’s doing this.

These questions are driving me crazy, and I need some fresh air. I walk the rest of the way out of the hall and outside to get some fresh air. I sit down at the base of a tree to think everything over.

I definitely like holding Snow’s hand, but this won’t last. Eventually, he’ll come to his senses. I will be left feeling like a fool, and he’ll know that I have feelings for him. He’s probably only doing all of this to mess with me. There’s no way that he would ever feel the same about me.

I’ll just have to avoid him for the rest of the day and hope that we can just move past this without any harm done. I can’t keep doing this with him if I’m going to keep my sanity.

 

**Simon**

I leave Baz standing in the middle of the dining hall and go sit beside Penny. I do my best not to turn around and look back at him. I’m afraid of the expression that I’ll find there. I don’t know if he’ll be angry or what. I didn’t really think about saying those words, I just did it.

“What was that about?” Penny asks me.

“What do you mean?”

“You just ran into Baz, and he didn’t even say anything. For a moment I thought he was going to hit you, but then he just looked surprised.”

“Oh, um, I don’t know. I just apologized and walked away.”

“Well, I’m glad you didn’t start fighting. Maybe that’s a good sign.”

“What do you mean?” I say again. There’s no way she knows anything, but it is Penny after all.

“Just that maybe you two can learn how to get along. Not be friends,” she adds, “but maybe not fight all the time anymore.”

“Oh,” I say. I don’t know what else to say. I would love to get along with Baz, to be friends or maybe even more than friends with him But that isn’t in the cards for us. We were destined to be enemies. Nothing more.

After lunch, Baz seems to be avoiding me. He doesn’t look at me and steers clear of me. Great. I compliment him, and he runs away scared. I shouldn’t have said anything. Now, he knows I find him attractive, and he’s weirded out. I spend the rest of the day in silence, glaring into space. Penny tries to ask me what’s wrong a few times, but I shrug her off. I can’t tell her. I can’t tell her that I’m in love with Baz. Or that I spent the morning trying to be flirty. Or that he’s ignoring me now. Or that I had been beginning to hope that maybe he felt the same way. I’m so stupid.

 

**Baz**

I skip dinner to go down to the catacombs and catch rats before I confront Snow. I don’t know what I’m going to say, but I need to know what he’s thinking, what he means by the hidden touches and whispered words. It will kill me if he’s just messing with me but at least I’ll know for sure.

I sit on my bed and wait for him to return from dinner. I stand up as soon as he walks into the room. I move towards him and trip over something. The plan was not to touch him at all, but when I fall, I take him down with me and land on top of him. This was definitely not part of the plan.

“What the hell, Baz? Why did you attack me? And shouldn’t the anathema have kicked in?”

Good. He didn’t see me trip and fall. He thinks I did this on purpose to hurt him. I sigh deeply. “Don’t you get it, Snow?” I ask quietly. “I’ve never wanted to hurt you.”

Those are not the words I wanted to say, and I had meant them to come out much harsher. Frustrated because I can’t think with him so close, I move to get off of him. But he stops me by wrapping both of his legs around one of mine so that I can’t move.

“No,” Snow says.

“No what?” I ask, confused.

“No, you don’t get to say something like that and then just walk away.” He reaches up then and runs gentle fingers through my hair and before tangling them there.

My breath hitches and my entire body freezes. What is he doing? It feels nice, and I don’t want him to stop. I place my hands on the ground on either side of his face, holding myself up so I don’t crush him.

“Snow…” I say, but I don’t know how to end that sentence. I can feel my face flush with the blood that I just drank. I want to ask him what he’s thinking. I want to tell him to kiss me. I want to tell him I’m in love with him. But I can’t do any of those things because I don’t know how he’ll react if I do.

He moves his legs so that they are no longer wrapped around mine, and I bite my lip, disappointed at the loss of contact. Then, before I know what’s happening, he pushes himself up into a sitting position, taking me with him. Now, I’m sitting in his lap and our lips are closer than ever. Snow licks his bottom lip, and all I want to do is close the distance between us and kiss him.

I adjust my legs so that I’m sitting in a more comfortable position then tentatively raise a hand and lightly trail fingers down the side of his face. Then, I move that same hand to run fingers through his hair. It’s softer than I imagined.

I don’t know what to do next, and I don’t think Snow does either. We just sit there staring into each other’s eyes, our lips mere inches apart. All I can think about is kissing him, but I’m afraid of how he’ll react. I move my hands to rest on his waist.

There’s a knock at the door, and I don’t get the chance to figure out what I was about to do.

“Simon are you in there?” It’s Bunce.

I gracefully untangle myself from Snow’s body, and when he doesn’t move to stop me, I walk across the room to the bathroom. Once inside, I close the door and sink to the floor leaning against it, burying my face in my hands. I can’t believe that I almost kissed Snow. But I can believe that Bunce would manage to interrupt that moment. I sit there until I have my breathing under control and can face the occupants of the bedroom.

 

**Simon**

Baz stands up, but I’m frozen to the spot, unsure what to do. The door knob turns as Penny lets herself in.

“What are you doing on the floor?”

“Nothing,” I say, failing to not sound like I’m guilty of something. I glare at the floor with a clenched jaw, angry at myself. It was the perfect opportunity to kiss Baz, but I was too afraid to make a move.

“Are you okay?” Penny asks, joining me on the floor. She glances around the room then says, “where’s Baz?”

As if on cue, the bathroom door opens, and Baz steps out looking unphased, like nothing had been happening when Penny knocked on the door. I’m furious. How can he look so calm when I’m barely holding it together? I want to punch him in his stupid, beautiful face.

I stand up and move towards Baz. I think Penny says something, but I don’t hear her. All I can think of is Baz and his soft hair and how nice his lips look. I grab the front of his shirt and push him up against the wall for the second time that day.

“Simon,” he whispers right before I press my lips to his. He grabs my hips to pull me closer, and I hum against his lips.

“Oh,” Penny says behind us. “I just came to see why Simon was acting so weird today, but it’s starting to make sense now. I’ll just go.”

I pull away from Baz when I hear the door close behind her. “Baz,” I whisper with a smile.

“Snow,” he whispers, smiling back.

“You called me Simon before.”

“No, I didn’t,” he says before kissing me.


End file.
